17, All but two

This must be the other wolf, Ayya thought. Before she could react to this new danger, Jakobi had raised his bow and fired an arrow. It hit its mark and burrowed into the wolf’s eye. It went in deep and the wolf collapsed as the blood stained the white fur on its face red. 

“Are you okay?” Sinhera asked Ayya.

“I’m fine. How is everyone else?” Ayya asked.

“Everyone is fine, no injuries to report,” Sinhera told her. Ayya nodded and looked over at the people surrounding her. The villagers that had accompanied them looked relieved. 

“We should dump the rest of the meat and then head back. Make sure you do it away from the wolves. Someone will come back here to do a headcount and clean it up,” Ayya said. She was feeling the effects of using her magic on such a large scale. In some aspects, she was still a beginner. The rest of the meat was thrown into the forest and they headed back. As they reached the village, every set of eyes was on them. That’s when Ayya realised that most of the people surrounding her had blood on their clothes. Only she and Sinhera were free from stains. The chiefs and Kahane waited for them at the village hall. Their eyes grew bigger when they saw the stat of the group.

“Any injuries?” the chief asked.

“No, everyone is unharmed. But I think we have killed most of the wolves. A group should be sent out to do a headcount and clean up the dead animals. But I think that even if we didn’t kill all of them, we killed enough for them to not pose a threat to you,” Ayya told them. She dismounted and felt her legs wobble. A morning of using magic and then ending up pouring that much power into holding down the wolves was taking its toll on her. Sinhera was by her side, but Ayya turned down her helping arm.

“Are you alright?” Kahane asked.

“Just a little tired. I could use something to eat and a nap,” Ayya confessed. 

“We can give a report and let lady Ayya rest,” Minio said. The chiefs all nodded and Ayya sent him a grateful smile as she and Sinhera left their horses and headed to the inn. One of the riders had gone ahead of them and when Ayya walked into the inn, Seara was serving bowls of stew and fresh bread. 

“Your grace, I hope this will do. Would you prefer it in your room?” the innkeeper asked.

“No, thank you Seara. This will do just fine. Could I trouble you for some milk if you have?” Ayya said, secretly relieved to get to rest her legs before tackling the stairs up to their room. 

“Absolutely, one moment,” the woman said. Ayya and the group of riders sat down around the table. Everyone watched Ayya, trying not to be too obvious about it. 

“I’m fine,” she told them with a smile as she took a spoonful of soup. “I just drained myself a little. After a nap, I will be back to normal.”

“You better. I don’t want to hog-tie you to the saddle to get you back home. Your father would kill me,” Sinhera told her. Ayya laughed and continued eating together with her friends. After they all had their fill, they headed up to their rooms. Ayya saw Sinhera quietly speaking to two of the riders before joining Ayya in their room.

“What was that about?” Ayya asked.

“I just made sure you will be able to get your rest,” Sinhera said, pulling off her boots to lie down on the bed. 

“You told them not to let anyone come up here?”

“Yeap, seamed like the smart thing to do. Now lay down and take a nap.”

“Fine, but please don’t let me sleep too long and definitely wake me up when the group they sent into the woods come back,” Ayya told her friend. 

“I will. Now relax.” Ayya closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep. She was awakened by Sinhera gently shaking her shoulder. 

“I’m up,” Ayya said, trying to get the sleep fog to lift from her brain.

“The men the chief sent to the woods are back,” Sinhera told her.

“Already? How long was I asleep?”

“Almost five hours.”

“Five hours? I told you not to let me sleep too long,” Ayya said, hurrying to get up. Sinhera shrugged. 

“You needed it, so it wasn’t too long,” she simply said. Ayya shook her head and splashed some water on her face. As they gathered the group of riders and headed out, they could hear people shouting. The square in front of the town hall was packed with villagers and they all seemed excited and was sheering, not shouting. The group made its way to the village hall, and the villagers parted to let them through as they were cheering for the aari and the riders. 

“I take it we got all the wolves?” Ayya asked as they reached a happy chief. 

“Almost, there is two left and one cub. We haven’t decided what to do about them yet,” the chief said, trying to control his joy. Ayya smiled at him.

“Let them be. They are too few to pose a threat to you, and if the pack grows, you will keep them in check. There is always good to have some large predators around,” she told him. “I guess that means we can celebrate?” 

“That is as good of an idea as any. We will throw a feast in your honour the likes of which have never been seen on this mountain,” the chief declared and the villagers all cheered.

“This was not my victory. This was a team effort,” Ayya objected.

“Just let them have this,” Sinhera whispered to her. Ayya nodded and before she knew it, she was swept away by the women so they all could start preparing the food for the feast. 

Two hours later and the celebration was in full swing. There had been tables set up in the square and food was being brought out in a steady flow. Huge barrels of mead had been placed on a table and people were happily filling their mugs. Some villagers had brought out fiddles, harmonicas and an accordion and the evening was filled with music, laughter and chit chatter. Ayya was sitting with Sinhera, Jakobi, and some of the riders. Minio had introduced them to his fiancee and the two of them had joined other couples and were dancing in an open area. The group laughed as a group of children ran between the dancing couples, almost making them lose their balance. Ayya enjoyed the mood, that were so vastly different from the mood when they had arrived in the village. She had even allowed herself to fill half of her mug with mead. The sweet beverage was far easier to drink than both wine and beer, she found. 

“Ayya, may I have a dance?” Kahane had walked up to them and was holding out his hand towards Ayya. Ayya looked at it in surprise. 

“I don’t know how to dance this dance,” she told him. He smiled at her.

“I have finally found something you are not an expert in. Don’t worry, it is easy. I will teach you,” he reassured her. Ayya looked at Sinhera, who shrugged. 

“Okay, but only one dance,” Ayya said, and took his hand. He escorted her to where the dancing took place.

“It’s easy. One step forward with your right foot, bring your left foot next to the right and extend your right foot again, then do a little jump that brings your left foot forward. And then repeat,” Kahane told her. 

“But all the twirling and moving in a certain direction?” Ayya asked. 

“That is up to me to guide you. Just follow my lead. Ready to try it?”

“Okay,” Ayya said, nodding at him. He placed a hand around her waist and took her hand in his other hand as he stepped to her side so they were facing the same direction. 

“Place your hand on top of my hand on your waist,” he told her, and Ayya did as she was told. Kahane led her out into the group of dancing people. In the beginning, Ayya concentrated on making her feet move in the correct way. But Kahane had been right, and she found she moved naturally to the music and Kahane guided her through the turns, the twirls and movements. As the music faded and the musicians took a minute to drink, she realised that she had had fun.

“Thank you, Kahane. This was more fun than I thought it would be,” she told him.

“My pleasure, Ayya. Sure I can’t tempt you into another dance?”

“No, thank you. I think I have reached my limit for now.” They headed over to where Sinhera still sat and, after making sure Ayya had what she needed, Kahane disappeared into the crowd. Sinhera watched him as he left.